


I'm okay...

by DameSeshat



Category: 2NE1, BLACKPINK (Band), Big Bang (Band), Winner (Band), iKON (Korea Band)
Genre: Angst, Chaptered, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Grief/Mourning, Multi, Slice of Life, Slow Build, Slow Burn, alternative universe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-09
Updated: 2019-07-26
Packaged: 2019-11-14 09:54:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 14,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18050309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DameSeshat/pseuds/DameSeshat
Summary: Kim Hanbin, after having lost his mother, decides to move back to Korea and work at the cafe owned by his aunt. On his way back he meets Lee Chaerin and from there on out gets acquainted with the rather multifaceted world of the super rich of Korea. Suddenly Hanbins idea of simply having a normal life is thrown out of the window.





	1. ...so now what?

Hanbin let his fingers push through his ebony black locks, eyes falling shut as his face ended up hidden behind his hands. Hiding behind them life seen hands had become the males number one ways from blocking out the world around him. A heavy soul crushing sigh passed through his chapped lips, whole face a lot paler than usual and his features sticking out a bit more after the weight loss. The hussle of the New York JFK airport was barely tuned out by his music, yet the passing masses of people couldn’t be blocked out however loud the tunes from his iPhone played. How he wished he could own a private yet, simply fly away at the right moment and not be stuck with waiting for a plane at a too loud and busy airport. Add to that the boarding time was set to begin at 12AM, but now it was 12:20AM and no one was making a move to get the massive amount of people into that metal bird. Everything and everyone was either irritating or simply exhausting, the males body worn out both mentally and physically. How he wished he could return home, walk through that door and have his mother greet him with a wonderful Korean dinner. That wish only hurt his already pain filled heart, leaving the male to grimace as his mind worked to erase said thought from his mind. 

Instead the past six months and a half he had been arranging her funeral, dealing with the wonderfully bureaucratic world of inheritance and finally packing up to move back to Korea. Honestly the most pleasant part had been selling the apartment, simply because everything else was either painstakingly slow or mentally exhausting. Yet someone was always looking for a place in New York, thus he had managed to get the place sold under a month - the only silver lining during the whole time he grieved. Hanbin couldn’t decide which had been worse - those expressions of condolences followed by that pity filled stare or the endlessly boring paperwork he needed to sign with the lawyers. People expressed their sorrow over his mothers passing, asked how he was and always were ready to help money wise - what none of them managed to understand was that he didn’t none of that. He wished for his mother to be alive, to give those soul restoring hugs and be there for him - she was one of his best friends, someone who knew him better than anyone. Now he would have to return to an empty apartment again and again, feel like he was misplaced in the world. Knowing his phone wouldn’t ring several times a day, because his mother was curious to what he was up too or had he eaten - sometimes just calling to chat with her son. Due to his mother's work, she has been out of town a lot and always worried about her son - once she returned kimchi jjigae was always on the menu. The painful understanding that all of that and naturally his mothers sometimes nagging words were in the past. Only there in his mind, in his memories and heart.

Before he would end up choked up again, Hanbins name was called up over the overhead speaker and sluggishly the male dragged his body up from the all to small cramped seating area and pulled his backpack onto his shoulder. His whole frame felt heavy and the bag only seemed to drag him down further, leaving a small yet tired slightly pained groan to pass over Hanbins lips. His clothes were baggy, nothing unusual there, but now they seemed to be simply hanging off his frame and not a style choice. Hanbin knew that, yet couldn’t bring himself to care enough in the aftermath of his mother's death - it seemed like a trivial matter to concern himself with. Walking over to the desk, eyebags as extra luggage, he looked at the ground staff with lifeless eyes and a more than exhausted expression. The woman at the desk didn’t even seem bothered by the ghost like figure, simply stretched out her hand and demanded from him his passport along with the boarding pass. Without thinking much he handed it to her, not sure why all of a sudden those things were of use - boarding clearly didn’t seem to start any time soon. By all means if he had felt more like himself, Hanbin would have asked if they would leave this airport today or not. Within him was this eagerness to simply leave, act like this part of his life was as dead - his mother was buried six feet under and no family remained in the states. Nothing held him here and by no means did he want a reason to stay. 

“The plane is overbooked. Your seat has been taken by the junior soccer team member,” the lady spoke, a clear edge of annoyance in her voice along with some panic and exhaustion mixed in together. Hanbin, who had already had a horrid last few months, stared at the lady with a rather dumbstruck expression. The information was, what he guessed, nice to have and yet didn’t really present options for him - he wasn’t in charge of such things. The woman, dressed in Korean Air ground staff attire, finally looked up and raised a questioning brow towards the young male. “Sir?”  
“What do you expect me to answer? So what that the plane is overbooked? I got here and I want to board this plane, to return to Korea. If I am expected to give up my seat, I won’t. So what should I be saying?” he replied with near anger in his voice, not caring about any excuse flung at him. Hanbin had managed to check in his bags, get a boarding pass, gone through the always mind numbingly dumb security check, then the long lines at passport control and finally ended up in this massive hall of overpriced perfume and food halls. Those two managed to somehow mix in together and create an aroma that left Hanbin’s stomach to flip in disgust - another minute in this overcrowded excuse of an airport would be an assault on human rights. Every passing second spent here left the male wishing to simply tune out the entire world, desperately looking for the mute button. One can not imagine how annoying, irritating and tiring it all was to him, probably everything amplified with the grief he didn’t want to full on deal with. “What options do I have?”  
Maybe because he sounded so agitated and looked rather ghost like, the lady quickly caught the eye of another staff member and they start to talk about options. Their chat turned technical and Hanbin was nearly expecting to be offered another flight along with some flimsy voucher to get food. Two more men joined them after a few minutes, clearly having gotten some instructions from higher up, and handed the two women papers, which they started to frantically look through.  
“Ah yes, mister Kim Hanbin. We can place you in business class. It seems it was our companies own fault and our clients are very important to us,” the lady spoke with such a sugar coated voice that the male knew immediately she was lying. It was the pitch of her voice, the fake smile and overly generic words that gave her away - yet in the end Hanbin wouldn’t complain all too much about it. All he desired was to be on that plane and leave the US - nothing holding him here and everything pushing the male away was enough to return to Korea. The upgrade was nothing less than welcomed, even if the females words in his ears rung as nothing less than dictionary description of fake. Maybe she was afraid he would go to the media otherwise - that was assuming he cared enough about customer service at this point in life.  
At any rate he was after all a full blooded Korean man, thus returning to the motherland should fill him up with glee and patriotic spirit. All it actually did was give him the knowledge that at least in Seoul he was a nobody - he wasn’t Kim Hanbin, who had just buried his mother and sold everything to his name, but simply another Kim in a mass of Kims. Going back “home” wasn’t him returning to his roots or returning to the motherland, but just Hanbin choosing another place to live until the inevitability of death comes for him as well. In Seoul there was no reminder of him giving up on his dreams and studies, only the numbness of anonymity to erase away the pain in his soul. A nine to five job to keep him busy while life passed him by, with a silent annoyance watching how so many others of his generation blossomed into important people. 

Hanbin was handed his ticket, another fake smile and moved away from the busy table - with the new boarding pass in hand he could go through the fast lane and sit in business class. That probably meant a better meal and maybe a bit more comfort in his seat - what else could a simple man ask for? Staring at the boarding pass, he didn’t notice a woman sitting only a few feet away from him and wearing too big black sunglasses constantly texting on her phone. She was regal, elegant and her pitch black hair and long black nails made her seem like a wicked witch from a fairytale. Unbeknown to Hanbin she had been watching him the entire time, now her deep plum painted lips had stretched into a pleased smile while she continued to text like a champion. One could trust people's inability to be observative at airports, able to fly under the radar if need be.  
The female in question was Lee Chaerin, once famous for the fashion choices and open minded ways of speaking, causing her to be a favoured figure among the internet generation. Yet these days the female flew very much under the radar as after her father's scandal had her part of the family kept quiet and a very low profile. Even though wealth was still something she owned, it was now the a lot wealthier and influential relatives back in Korea that dictated the family business and happily ignored her family. It had driven both of her parents to settle in Hawaii and barely say anything against the choices made by those in power within their family, leaving her to be pushed around be the social winds that blew unreasonably. Tired of being at the mercy of her relatives, she now geared up to place herself back into the power position she once had. 

Finally the boarding started, people sluggishly cueing up and waiting to be let on. As per usual the people in first and business class were let on first, then everyone else based off their location on the plane or having a child with them. For the very first time Hanbin could board the plane rather early on, without people pushing past or trying to climb over him to get to their own seat. It was a lot calmer and more organised, leaving him to finally feel calm and even start to enjoy the journey back to the land he came from. It wouldn’t last, of course, but the start was nice. Moving down the long dull grey walkway towards the plane and getting greeted by inhumanly cheery flight attendants was what really didn’t sit well with the male. By now he wanted to simply sit down and once more ignore the world around him, not get warm welcomes from people who seemed like they honestly had been doing the job for too long. Walking down the left corridor of the plane towards his seat, the male already noticed the difference in their seating and more space given to them. Finally he reached his seat, eyes settling on a female. 

There sat the most stunning looking regal like figure Hanbin had ever seen, sitting in her seat as if she belonged there and staring out of the plane window. She was dressed very simply, downright casually, and yet something about her posture, the way she looked - it was clear she was of higher class. Her face was mostly hidden by too big sunglasses, black hair cascading down over her shoulders and perfectly manicured hands placed in her lap. There was something rather feline about her, yet above all she seemed too important to only be sitting in business class. To him it seemed that now every action from his side seemed helpless and made too much noise - taking out his book, setting down his phone and earphones. Especially when it came to him pushing that back bag into the overhead compartment, Hanbin was oddly aware how he didn’t possess that polished class the regal life figure did. Shyly he collected his things into his hands and sat down, fastened the seat belt and watched the crowded continue to pour past him. Once bored of that he stored his book away and once more put on his earphones to mute the world around him. 

Out of the corner of his eye he caught the female looking at him, not with judgement or annoyance - simply looking at him with her eyes unreadable. Hanbin wasn’t sure why he would in any sense induce any kind of interest for anyone of her rank. Even though Hanbin didn’t think much of social classes, there were a few people planted upon this earth, who had an air about them. He usually labeled it as someone seeming regal, fit to be seated on a throne and rule with a wise mind, iron hand and gentle heart. She seemed to be apart of such an elite class of people, which caused him to question why she paid him attention. Before any questions could be posed the overhead speakers started to say the usual greetings followed by the always same information and than security information. Hanbin only put his music to play even more loudly and decided if the plane will crash, then at least he was listening to his favourite tunes.

A plane ride was always the same - first came the endless bustle of people wanting to get on, pushing and nudging for things to go quicker. They never did, but surely caused a huge amount of annoyance to vibrate through the plane, people huffing loudly and giving angry looks at each other. After that came the long wait of the plane being secured and starting to roll away from the terminal, all while the passengers were given the always same security talk - seatbelts fastened, exits here, emergency vest used like this and masks like that. It made one question if the plane staff even wanted to hear it, but as the flight attendance first job was to provide a safe journey - they had to go through the theater every time. Probably the time nothing happened was take off and landing as it was handled by the pilots, probably always accompanied by that one loud child starting to yell or another infuriating noise sounding through the plane.  
Then came a small pause as the food was prepared - naturally the on board passengers either settle in to read, listen to music, work or wait for said food. It is never a calm energy in the aircraft, but more that of expectancy and light desire for the flight to already be over. After what probably seems like at least one eternity later the food was served along with the drinks - the was a new kind of bustle going on the plane. It was in a sense it was the busyness of the airport simply fitted into one metal bird, with the scent of food even less appetizing. Another pause before they tried to sell times that really weren’t all that cheaper and then came the time of calm. Many slumbered, while others still furiously typed away on their laptops and Hanbin was happily reading his book while the female beside him slumbered. About two weeks after his mothers death the male had found “The travelling cat chronicles”, remembering his mother mentioning it and now feeling like he needed to know what it was about. Along with music reading seemed to be the thing to distract him enough not to focus on what was the reality of his life. His body however decided that for once it would decide upon when it could rest, leaving him to fall asleep about twenty five pages into the book. He only awoke once food was served again - the feeling of a new bit of energy settling in his soul consumed his mind. 

 

There was probably only another two hours to go, but Hanbin had grown bored of his book and the music blasting from his ear phone. Food eaten and no purchases made, the male would have done whatever to finally land on Korean soil. With a sigh he pushed down the heavy earphones, letting them rest on his shoulders as he tilted his head from side to side. It wasn’t enough time to start watching some random movie, but too much time to be only bored. Without even thinking he started to look outside of the window, only seeing the slowly brightening sky and nothing much else. It seemed like the female was bored as well, her perfectly manicured fingers tapping away on her knee. No rhythm, simply tapping to a beat maybe in her own mind.

The sun glasses had disappeared and a beautiful face came into view, painted to look like a fierce femme fatale. While so many looked like zombies having boarded the plane and now hoping to get off it as soon as possible, since it turns out flying could be rather boring. Yet there she sat with a perfect kiss of makeup pressed against her face, a queen on her flying throne ready to descend upon anything the next day brought. Their gazes met.

“Bored as well?” she asked with a perfectly plucked eyebrow raised high, clearly amused over the fact that Hanbin had tried to avert his gaze and act like nothing had happened. Her voice was much brighter and girlish than her though look suggested, leaving a pleasant surprise for Hanbin - especially as a light youthful giggle came from her lips.  
“Hard not to be.” Hanbin confirmed, leaning his head against the headrest and choosing to slowly digest the situation on hand. His own voice, a soft deep kind that was pleasant listen to and would pick up a rougher tone as once angered. The males mother always said it was something he had gotten from his father, a fact that Hanbin had only slowly managed to accept.  
“True. I am Chaerin,” she spoke and stretched out her hand, one which Hanbin took without much thought, giving it a proper handshake and receiving one in return. To him it was rare that women knew how not to leave their handshakes to be that of a dead cold fish.  
“Hanbin.”  
“What brings you to Korea?” she asked, upholding a dry seemingly mindless small chat that Hanbin loathed to the core. Yet boredom demanded sacrifices and thus he would indulge both herself and try to entertain himself in the process. Add to that they had at least two more hours to go and by all means he couldn’t listen to any more music or read a single line - he wanted out of this damned metal bird. Even if once he had gotten off from this plane a new country awaited, where nothing of his old life would remain and Hanbin could start from zero - an aspect he liked and loathed at the same time.  
“Family.” he replied shortly, having no mood to explain in depth why suddenly Korea was calling, because truthfully he was simply leaving one country for another. In the process indeed family was involved - his very sweet though a bit too energetic aunt suggesting to breath some mother country air before making more life choices and arguing this would help him money wise. The later probably struck a cord the hardest, because Hanbin needed money and some sort of a mundane structure to his life. In that sense his aunt was ideal with her small cafe in Hongdae, because even if it was a waitering job it was an income of money. His mother had left behind some possessions, but financially speaking there wasn’t much to inherit and Hanbin needed to survive. Even though he would have loved to simply meditate, write his poems or go on long walks, the reality of life was he needed to work in  
“You seem too death like for it to be just family.” Her comment was straight forward, leaving Hanbin to give her an amused smile - this conversation could actually turn into something interesting, because of her wit. It wasn’t hard to miss how Hanbin looked rather haggard, especially the moments he let his mask drop for the split second and his true exhausted nature. Those small glimpses were select and rare, but Chaerin had caught them, all too quickly connecting them to the friends base back in Seoul. It was odd how she looked at this male and somehow understood so much and nothing at all since he didn’t know the backdrop to anything.  
“Oddly enough it is connected to family, why I look like the Grim Reapers son.”he replied with his usual dry humor, by now used to people pointing out his complexion in the most worrying of descriptions. It started off them saying he looked exhausted which gradually became him looking zombie like or like the son of the bringer of death. By now Hanbin didn’t even react to it as truthfully he didn’t care how he looked like - people seemed to forget how mentally and physically exhausting it was to mourn. Especially when you can’t simply mourn, but have to organize, understand and solve problems thrown at you at every single angle. Looking impeccable wasn’t really on his list of things to achieve, because truly all he longed for was some peace and quiet. Where a day could pass without someone asking him something connected to his mother, his family or his place in the future. The future for him started with the next day, not the next year.  
“And here I thought only my family had such power,” she muttered more to herself than anyone else and yet Hanbin picked it up easily. A tired smile crossed his face before it faded away slowly, leaving you to question if it even had been there in the first place. “Your English is good, accentless.”  
“Been living in the States since I was born.” Hanbin replied, rather not used to such a comment about his English and much more a nagging jabs at his Korean. After a while he had accepted the fact he wasn’t Korean enough nor was he American - sitting somewhere in the middle, knowing both sides and yet never fully understanding neither of them.  
“Ah second generation? Third?” she asked with a clear curiosity in her voice, as if having found the truly interesting bit about him. By her reaction it was clear to him that Chaerin was not someone, who had lived for a longer time in the States and only recently moved.  
“Born in Seoul, not even a generation. My mom always planned to return. The States were only a moment in time solution, never a home.” Hanbin spoke, his voice sounding monotone and close to dead with boredom discussing small details of his past. However he entertained the other female, giving the small specks of information he was comfortable exposing and yet keeping secrecy around the general setting of his life.  
“But now only you?” she asked, trying to elaborate on the males short answers that left room to enquire more information. It was like pulling teeth with him, only instead of pain the male handed out endless amounts of curiosity that seemed to be fueled with every new answer.  
“Like I said, family is the reason for the way I look.”  
The female fell silent as her previously friendly smile dropped from her face, replaced with an expression of deep sadness and small horror. It was like she had walked onto a minefield, unsure where to step or how to act. Somehow too awkward to express her condolences, Chaerin struggled with her words while Hanbins eyes drifted away from her and onto the set in front of him. Whenever he even alluded to the topic people changed and stiffened, somehow starting an odd dance of trying to be sensitive and at the same time express their own thoughts. People seemed to hate to talk about it and always unprepared when someone didn’t mind discussing the topic head on, leaving the conversation to either die or be very awkwardly pushed into another direction. Though Hanbin found that the hardest and sometimes most uncomfortable part about the whole situation were those looks of sadness sent your way, which never did much good. They were nearly haunting in a sense, even if he couldn’t explain why.  
“My...my condolences. Family still in the country?” she spoke with a lot more hesitation, somehow oddly afraid to step on another emotional landmine. It was obvious that the female seemed unnerved that every single comment directed towards his family ended up sending off a unbeknown emotional trigger. Careful and delicate, those now seemed her choices. Yet behind her question wasn’t simple curiosity, but something Hanbin didn’t expect from a complete stranger - worry. As if the idea of him being alone in Seoul seemed nothing less than terrifying - the male for a moment didn’t know what to say or react, because no one had shown this aspect of human emotion to him. This sudden burst of someone caring came out of the blue, because for all these months no one seemed to have cared enough to stop and really ask him if he was managing.  
The simple sentence of ‘i’m okay’ was so easy to slip out of his mouth he barely understood the heavy burden he put on those words. A burden which was seemingly spoiled with how the reply was in a sense a lie. He wasn’t okay, not even close to it and yet giving said answer was the safest option to keep any kind of social interaction from going south. But at this very moment Hanbin knew that he wasn’t okay and that moment of worry coming from a complete stranger nearly unsettled him. As if how could anyone dare to be this emotionally open and honest, be curious about his true feelings and not be happy with a lie thrown at them to feel better.  
“Yes. My aunt suggested I would come back home to Seoul, work at her cafe in Hongdae,” Hanbin spoke, oddly feeling happiness seep into his body about the fact that the female didn’t decide to drop their whole interaction and instead find a way to push forward. This way the uneasiness between them seemed to mellow, slowly melt away and was replaced by something close to a normal chat. “And you?”  
“Don’t look like a tourist returning home?” she asked jokingly, but there was a small edge of nervousness in her tone, rather misplaced and oddly sharp. The previous open friendliness was washed off with a blink of an eye, replaced with someone quickly pulling up all of their defensive mechanisms, one by one disappearing behind them. It was rather curious to observe the female, especially how defensive she grew over the simplest of matters - be it the question of her visiting or family. Clearly there was something more to her than just an impeccable style and curious mind - Hanbin wished he could know more about Chaerin.  
“Not even close,” Hanbin finally confessed with a small cheeky grin, looking at the other and somehow feeling victorious. By now he was used to the fact that emotions flew about, not really landing in the correct spots in the correct time frame.  
“My nieces birthday is around the corner and a wedding. Might as well simply fly back and spend a longer time, especially since the cherry blossom time would come soon as well.” Chaerin answered, somehow sounding like the given details in her reply were set to appear in some sort of interview published in a gossip magazine. They weren’t ones to “Mainly I am there for my niece, the rest of the family are a bit of a drag.”  
“Sounds like a pleasant way to enter fall,” Hanbin mused, not really sure if her very robotic way of answering was an indication of her connection to her family. Family was clearly a topic that never seemed to be fairytale like, but instead had bumps and bruised egos, a lot of secrets and even more history than you cared to hear. Hanbin long ago had decided he would not care for it, figuring if already his father had no interest in him, why would he push to be too interested in his family. For now his aunt was enough, because of the simple reason that she had always cared for him. 

The overhead speakers announced that they would start the landing process, asking the passengers to fasten their seatbelts, put their tables away and be ready for landing. Their conversation ended with the small bustling of people trying to put away their things and be ready for landing, Chaerins gaze once more moving out of the window to look upon Seoul. Hanbin instead let his eyes fall shut, mentally preparing himself to speak Korean again and be another Kim in the sea of Kim’s. It was a rather calming thought to know that once he was off this plane he had officially left behind everything that happened back in the States, now maybe able to have time to figure out where he stood and where the GPS of life was taking him. 

“How about we stay in contact? Seeing both of us are in Seoul and for a change in scenery.” Chaerin suggested once they had landed and there was a chance to get reception, her perfectly manicured nails fished out her Iphone X. Eyes focused on the device, Hanbin didn’t bother to do the same as he figured if she added him and messaged he would get her contact information anyway. Her fingers moved over the display, while the plane rolled along the asphalt towards its final docking area. People already moved and talked happily, glad to finally be back home and out of this metal bird.  
“Why not.” he mused and leaned back into his seat for a moment, knowing that the moment he stepped out of this plane it would be a life where he had no parents to speak of and only had his aunt. A whole new chapter about his life was starting and he wasn’t fully sure how well he was prepared to what would come at him next.  
“Okay. Shoot,” she spoke, looking up at him once more and waiting for his reply. Hanbin carefully recalled his Korean number and hoped he hadn’t messed up, yet she found his account rather quickly. Clicking ‘Add’, the female smiled softly as she opened up the chat with him and sent an emoticon as a greeting. “Well that will greet you once you have your phone on.”

***

At the arrival area stood Hanbins aunt, someone who could pass as his mother and yet with a few alternations - a much higher nose and eyes set a lot closer, along with her hands much rougher, not elegant and graceful. Add to that her thick black hair was always up in a tight knot, rather similar to Hanbins mothers usual hair style. She seemed calm, nearly serene as the female observed her nephew slowly come towards her, with three massive suitcases packed onto the trolley. Everything else he found important enough to stay in his possession had been shipped over, set to arrive two days after his return home - at least that was the promise. Both sisters had done ballet for years, something which always was evident with Hanbins mother and slightly faded away by his aunt, which he oddly enough found good to see. She was his last bit of family left on this god forsaken planet, one he would care for. 

“Hey,” she spoke calmly, her Korean accent thickly painted over the English, as her arms wrapped around him tightly. It wasn’t a simple hug, but one that somehow made you crumble inside of the others embrace. As much it was needed, Hanbin didn’t feel comfortable with such an emotional overload to knock him over the head as it did. In an odd sense he needed such a hug to unload every little bit of emotions within in and yet not in the current setting. His mind ended up in a state of not knowing what he should do - pulling way seemed impossible and yet starting to cry again not an option. The male lingered, enjoying the embrace he so very much needed before a heavy sigh parted them two.  
“Hey, aunt Su,” he replied, the pure fatigue so evident in his voice that it seemed it shook up his whole being. In Korean his voice changed, somehow unable to hide away his sadness and grief - a good thing not to have to keep it in and yet making it harder to keep himself calm.  
“Come, let us go home.” his aunt spoke, putting an arm around the males shoulder as he started to push the trolley towards the doors. Luckily for him his aunt had a car and thus they didn’t need to worry about how all of this would be transported to her apartment set in a nice quiet part of Seoul. 

 

Walking toward the glass doors opening and closing constantly, Hanbin only once looked back to see Chaerin walk out with all of her suitcases and smile at him before her attention was caught by someone else. A man dressed in a mahogany turtleneck and distressed jeans, last season Gucci shoes and a pair of simple spectacle balancing on his perfect seeming nose. Hair all slicked back and eyes sharp, he wore a smile once the female came into view and he could move closer. Hanbins attention was demanded by his aunt, thus he couldn’t continue watching the unfolding scene and instead reply what he wanted to eat. Not even needing to think twice he replied he wished to have kimchi jjigae and some nice beer, probably also a shower and good nights rest. 

“Jiyong, how-?” Chaerin asked, stopping with her trolly a few steps away from the man in question, brow raised. Kwon Jiyong of the real estate powerhouse family of Kwons, was the oldest son of three and probably the most notorious among the upper elite. Not only stylish and good with the ladies, but also very talented in the art of making deals and securing the needed information. To this day many considered him the best catch for their daughters, even though he had never actually had shown any interest in such a vanity fair - gossip did its work without him having to even do much. Instead he worked tirelessly as his father had passed a large chunk of the family business onto him and not his brother - something which caused a lot of tension within his family. Then again it was the upper elite and if everything had been wonderfully serene, it would seem more than weird.  
“If you think Jennie can contain her excitement over seeing you, then you are dead wrong. She blurred it out over dinner last night, so me and Bobby know. No one else, I made sure of it. I had hoped to at least be notified and not just her,” he spoke calmly, coming closer to give the female a small welcoming hug. It was an embrace both of them needed and yet never admitted, because between the two of them was too much that had not been said. “Also good to have you back, Rinnie.”  
The meant to be short embrace turned a lot longer, as both of them clung onto each other and the familiarity they shared between each other. Korea elites number one source of rumors, Miss Naver, never could figure out what was between these two individuals - as much she had tried, nothing came of it. In many ways it was something that people enjoyed gossiping about and yet knew they weren’t on the right path, certainly not, and so continued their chatter with words like ‘allegedly’ or ‘rumour has it’. Chaerin and Jiyong never even showed a particular interest to giving answers, because at times they themselves didn’t know and other times found it bothersome how nosey high class women were. Especially Chaerin, who didn’t want to be ‘the wife of’ and instead her person - a notion which Jiyong supported. Thus the two were an enigma. 

Once they broke apart again, it was like a mountain of unspoken words stood between them and everyone around them had no idea of it. It was always like this when they had spent a good amount of time apart and they themselves wished for clarity. However the arrival area of an airport was not the place to discuss matters of the heart, mind or soul - both painfully aware of it.  
“She always was too eager to see me,” Chaerin spoke, choosing to discuss the topic of her niece more than what really should be discussed. “I do love her for it as she seems the only one in the family wishing to see me. Where is she now?”  
“Pink Bubble. Bobby convinced her to stay put and not show up here. You know how people gossip,” Jiyong spoke, casually taking over pushing the suitcase trolley and started to walk towards where his car was parked. Chaerin, without much choice left and hoping no one they knew had seen them, started to walk with the male. “You slipped in at the right time. The whole society is buzzing about Jennies birthday and the party to come with it. It is seen as the social event of the mid summer, you know. Miss Naver has several threads going about who will attend, who is blacklisted and above all who will be the main entertainment. Jenny barely gets a word in about organization and instead spends increasing amount of time with me or Bobby - neither of us mind, but she really needs more friends.”  
“Why do you think I chose such a flight at such a time?” she spoke, checking her phone, “ And yes I agree she does, but really it has never been easy for her as she was always played up as the princess of Koreas elite - what parents won’t do to make their offspring suffer. Anyway I know my aunt is fussing about the flowers and my uncle about, who of his friends have been invited. I just hope they aren’t using this for something else. ”  
“I have kept my eyes and ears open,” he spoke calmly, catching the others drift. “I sadly have to say they will. However what they will do is something I have not heard.”


	2. He is fine, it’s fine, he is fine, it’s fi--

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for my hiatus. My writing muse left me and work got stressful, however here is an update.

Hanbin’s aunt lived above her cafe as it had been the only way for her to diligently make sure her establishment actually ran smoothly and also, because of her long tenancy, she didn’t need to pay that much rent either. It was a simple two bedroom apartment, in need of a bit of freshening up and yet it was in every sense of the word a home - warm, welcoming and with the sense the one living here loves this place. Maybe that was why Hanbin stood at the doorway for a long time, letting his heart be filled up with the love he felt this place had been given over the course of time. For a reason well known to him, but unwilling to speak it out loud, the moment moved him to tears as a watery frame came to be around his eyes. Furiously blinking he erased it, not in the mood to discuss the emotional turmoil still happily living inside of his heart.   
It was hard to explain to himself that he could feel gleeful and happy, then only needing one trigger to feel like the world was against him with dark heavy nearly black clouds hanging over his head. Hanbin had of course read up on the stages of grief, trying to make sense of his own feelings and in the end grown so frustrated that he rather simply waited for the storm to blow over. His natural stoic self came to light even more strongly, being commented on by some people and praising him for keeping it together - the male would have loved to laugh at them for thinking that way. He was not “keeping it together”, but instead pushing on knowing his mother wouldn’t want him to wallow. Keeping the stinging tears and feelings of loneliness for the silent dark nights, not the all to bright days where paperwork needed to be solved. 

As time rolled on it was soon enough time for dinner, where aunt Su had cooked up a storm and filled up the small dining table to the point where you couldn’t see more than bowels, cup and cutlery. She encouraged her nephew to eat, having noticed his ghost like looks and immediately worried for his well being. It was easy to see that Hanbin had lost quite a bit of weight, his cheeks sunken and every single facial feature standing out as if ready to be used as a weapon. Maybe that was why she had gone so overboard, only relaxing once she saw Hanbin dig into the home cooked meal and clearly enjoying it. In silence the male tried not to get too emotional and cry, because it felt so long since he had had a proper home cooked meal and something that his mother would have created for her son. This small detail was enough to put him into a melancholic mood, savouring each and every bite he took - eating as if he had been starved for this for years. This sight was what also gave a more somber setting around the dining table, the older woman watching their relative inhale the food as his eyes were framed so sadly with tears. 

Aunt Su had of course worried for him the moment she realized there was no way she could fly to the states and having the male do everything himself. Now he heart sank deeper, tugged down by guilt, as her nephew looked like he had walked through hell and back. Nothing about the boy was like he remembered - the bright smile extinguished by the hardships and turmoil, eyes seeming dull instead of being filled with life. It was yet beyond her how she could bring back that light that shone bring within Hanbin, but for now she would focus on being there for him. Whatever it meant.   
They ate the rest of the dinner with mostly Hanbins aunt talking about what she thought he could do in the cafe and how things would be settled - the most headache worthy seemed to be the official paperwork. Much to his happiness she declared herself ready to look into it and bother him as little as possible with it, but did expect to pull his weight in the household. A settlement Hanbin easily agreed to as it was the same back home, plus he agreed to clean the cafe once it is closed up so the rest of the staff could get off a bit early. As his home was the closest, it made sense in his head and somewhere he knew the others would be polite enough not to leave the cafe in a complete state of mess. 

“You should have buried her here.” Hanbins aunt finally spoke, both of them having finished eating some time ago and simply enjoyed the last bits of side dishes along with drinks. The male had enjoyed the comforting silence that had settled once his aunt had talked until she was empty, because that was what he hungered for the most - a noiseless setting to ease his mind. The latter bit clearly would not come to be tonight as his aunts four soju bottles had proven themselves to be the key to unlock her no filter system. While Hanbin grew more fond of skinship once he got a few shots rushing through his system, he had learnt that both his mother and aunt Su became painfully truthfully about matters that could be handled with a light sense of delicacy. In fact Hanbin nearly flinched at the way his aunt has spoken, since it was a bit too close to sounding like his mother.   
“Aunt Su,” the male sighed, not even wanting to look up at the female and instead hoping she would drop the topic. The mere idea of having to go through a Korean style burial and wake was nothing less than horrific in his eyes. Having to stand guard while people came to express their sadness over the loss, eat and leave - for three whole days and constantly getting those pitying looks. Even with his aunt, Hanbin knew he couldn’t have managed it mentally and thus decided to solve things more quietly, more like his mother hopefully would have liked.   
“She would have been buried at home. She should be back here,” the female continued on, seeming her words came from a drunk rambling fit rather than a sober mind stating facts. Clearly the four bottles of soju had been enough to unlock several layers of unspoken words, no ready to flow out. Timing wise it was clearly unbefitting and downright unhelpful, but that didn’t mean that she didn’t believe in those words flowing out of her mouth. It was much more that her logical side of her brain understood how much more hassle it had been, yet the emotions wanted her sister back home resting next to their parents, grandparents - in short their family. Not in foreign soil being alone and barely if at all visited - the idea alone made her heart ache painfully and demanded justice for what in her eyes was a wrong doing. Though her nephew was not the one to blame, he got the cold shower of harsh words.   
“Please, aunt Sumin,” Hanbin tried to reason, his voice sounding strained with the pain he felt. It wasn’t simply about burial, but the fact he had to do it all alone and in the light of everyone knowing best. In that situation somehow everyone knew what they would do and gave advice as if were free samples, but actual help was little due to diverse reasons. “I tried to do this to the best of my abilities. I didn’t have anyone else around to help me, simply everyone telling me how sorry they are and how they would be there for me. Nice gestures and all, but they did not feel the pain I did and do, only a deep sense of loss and not the bottomless pit of grief. I stood there alone in the funeral home deciding on a urn and the plaque, the font and how it would be done. I went to an empty house after the wake and next day continued on trying to solve this mountain of paperwork, alone and with barely any money. I just...”  
“Hanbin…” aunt Su started to say, her mind somehow switching in understanding that her words had opened a deep wound in Hanbins heart. Even though those words have needed space to be let out, the time had be ill advised at best and a downright personal attack.   
“I am going to bed.” the male announced, standing up from the table,bringing his dishes over to the sink and then silently without a rush moving towards where his bedroom was. Shoulders hunched and head hanging, a more pitiful sight could not be imagined and yet there it was distancing itself from the kitchen.   
Heartbreaking moments are multiple, yet in that very moment aunt Su felt the bitterness of having clearly not read the room right and sadness over one person being this broken down. Her heart clenched painfully, a pained sobbed escaping her lips and the females grasping at straws to somehow manage all of these soul crushing emotions, to keep them contained in her body. With a heavy sigh she stood and started to clear out the table, choosing the old way of work instead of facing ones emotions dead on as she herself was not ready for it - how does one face the fact that ones beloved family member is gone? Not lightly or easily, instead having to comb through a complex web of emotions, memories and the deep endless pit of grief that always shatters through whatever defense mechanism you have in place. An all powerful emotion gripping you by the throat, blackening out everything else and making the soul heavy along with your heart and mind. With grief in ones soul the world around has a vile of grey pulled over it, because a light seems to have been dimmed and the loss of it from your surroundings pains the soul 

Hanbin closed the door to his room and sighed, looking at the three open half unpacked suitcases and five towers of boxes. Empty shelves, a simple one person bed just at the window and the night stand filled with the essential things like his phone and earphones. This was his home now, a room that was just about the size of his old one and comfortable, but not the same. It wasn’t the same space he had studied in for hours on end to keep his grades on a level that would assure him getting into the college he wanted. It wasn’t the same room where his mother consoled him over his first heartbreak or helped him get through a high fever, because he ended being caught in a heavy downpour. It wasn’t the room where he had discovered the beautiful words of great poets or wondered why he really truly needed calculus. It wasn’t the space where he as a child had posters of his favourite cartoon characters that later became posters of hip hop artist and in the end picture of his friends and family. This wasn’t his actual true home. This here was only a room where his things happened to be, a space he happened to be in and live. Hopefully one day a new home with different memories.   
Dragging his body onto his bed, happy that it had already been made by his aunt, the male could feel how heavy his whole existence felt. The short yet annoying chat with his aunt had let several emotions bubble up within him and made his eyes sting with uncried tears. Suddenly even breathing seemed too difficult and bothersome to do, leaving him to simply lay in bed and stare out of the window onto the roofs of neighbouring houses. It was night, illuminated by only the street lamps and a few cats flashing around corners as they strolled the night. Without thought, without much on his mind tears started to roll down his face and stain the sheets underneath him. Hanbin let them flow as he had gotten to a point where it seemed like a natural part of his life - crying silently in the night, at least one output for all the emotions he didn’t want to address. The more he would have focused on stopping these crystal tears sweeping over his cheeks, the more upset he grew and more tears flowed - another fact the male had learned. In the end he simply closed his eyes, hoping the tears would stop if he tuned out the world and escaped into the world of slumber and some sort of rest. With a heavy heart he navigated his limbs under the warm blanket and head to rest on his pillow, trying his best to hope that exhaustion would let him sleep and not once more spend a night crying. For now he didn’t care to change his clothes, brush his teeth or do the minimal skincare his mother always demanded of him - nothing mattered to him to motivate his limbs to move. Another day he can do all of that, tonight he sought out slumber. He listened for anything outside the window or his aunt trying to come into his room - nothing. There was actually a comforting silence around him, one that slowly rocked his heavy soul into a sleep and lulled his mind into the land of dreams.

 

The cafe was not that much off the beaten track of Hongdaes busy streets and thus known by many locals, sometimes found by tourists and adored by university students. With a small success to her name aunt Su had kept the place afloat over several years, remodelling once there were enough money and it seemed people wanted a new surrounding. Currently the whole cafe sported a favoured Nordic theme, where minimalism ruled supreme and seemed to be very Instagram worth, which was probably why people focused on that more than drinking their cafes. In fact thanks to her employees, she was one of the first to use those all too pretty looking instagram models and couples to promote her cafe to a younger audience. Even though she herself thought little of the Instagram influencers absurdly large power on a mass, aunt Su also understood business and what would be good for her. The same path of logic could be followed in her switching out the more laid back lounge style over to the Nordic theme, because by all mean every interior magazin under the sun stated how on vogue it was. The only true pain was to keep those pale surfaces looking clean and beautiful, however even for that she found good solutions. In the end the female was rather business savvy, even if her looks did not hint it as she could be very easily confused for a simple Korean housewife, no more. 

Behind the wooden decorated counter, seemingly with a lot of energy and time to have small moments of fun - between making delicious drinks and quickly serving snacks, the duo consisting of Lisa and Rose had fun singing with a few dance moves thrown in. It was a delight to watch the two highly energetic females work behind the small space, quick on their feet and able to provide an unrivaled service. That was why aunt Su was so proud of her duo, happily sitting at her usual spot and doing the paperwork that seemed to never end. She always kept an eye on the duo, noting down how many customers they managed to serve in a hour and if it went over their usual quota, a small bonus was added to their monthly check. Lisa and Rose, on a busy day, managed to serve around ten to fifteen people depending on the order. 

Rose had been gifted with a charming warm smile, welcoming customers with a soft voice and friendly aura - in online reviews many men referred to as the Cafe Princess, while females gushed over her youthful simple looks. Even among the international customers, she had managed to leave a lasting impression and helped to keep the cafes score above a 4.5. Not only was the female a catch for the eye, her actions and ability to withstand stress were rather impressive as he managed to never seem strained. Instead every customer got that extra small smile, warm words and a feeling they were the only customer standing in line. One might wonder if she was born for the job, however anyone with a sharper eye understood that at this cafe she didn’t do much more than what was natural to her. Rose is a working student, which meant balancing work and studies - she was a student of the prestigious Ewha Womans University, studying in the division of Social Sciences the all so complex Political Science & International Relations. Among the online forums, she was made into the Social Science beauty and praised for being top of her class or at least the second - no one ever doubted her ability to make it big once she graduates. Naturally meaner tongues waggled fiercely, claiming she had others do her homework and used her looks to seduce every man under the sun - such gossip was what Rose always dismissed as people being rather bored at university. In fact it did hurt her that people could be so mean and not believe that a female could manage everything she wanted through hard work. Being proud of the work she had invested into her academic career, she did let off steam about these boundless rumors when around friends - never in public. At a young age she had learned to keep a tough exterior and not let people see her as a weak one to pick on - such stance did backfire on her, even if she didn’t admit it.

Lisa on the other hand was an energy bomb, moving behind the counter at what seemed lightening speed to get the coffee and other orders done quickly. On her lips was nearly on a constant basis a recent hit tune or a catchphrase that had caught on. Finger guns for those too flirty guys hoping for a chance and a warm word for the nervous college student asking for an extra strong coffee. Her very slim and tall figure seemed fragile to the onlooker, but that first impression was quickly overthrown. While Rose, a true lady, was seen as this beautiful princess - Lisa was the girl everyone wanted to be friends with and hang out after hours. Her life had not led her to be in university, studying hard to reach their goal, and instead had ended up taking a year off between highschool and university. That one year was now two and she rather enjoyed either working at the cafe or dancing in the dance 1MILLION dance studio. The slender figure truly became alive the moment music pulsated through her body and made it move, her expression changing and confidence overflowing. Even if her body ached from endless hours at the dance studio, she still felt more herself dancing than she had ever with her nose stuck in a book. Naturally that kind of thinking had caused her trouble back home, where her mother especially had expressed unhappiness of her daughters choices and being the only one in the family without a university paper. By now fights with her were a natural part of Lisas life - if a month passed without the topic coming up, then she could be 100% sure the next months verbal jabs would be a lot harsher. Lisa didn’t speak about the tensions at home, choosing to live her life the way she wanted and focusing on the sources of happiness - it had gotten harder over the past few months, but she tried. Plus the shared instagram account with Rose had grown so popular, they started to get sponsors and again extra money. In her eyes the higher education had taken a back seat in a family van meant for eight and she could think about it later, when it would be a fulfilling expierience and not a chore. 

Hanbin joined the always smiling Jinwoo, who served the two floors and was clearly a favourite among the female customers. He was tall and slender, hair in a mass of dark brown curls and Hanbin swore the man didn’t walk, but instead he floated. If anything Jinwoo was the epitome of a flower boy, who graced this cafe with his presence and somehow made the flowers bloom more beautifully. It only seemed befitting he was studying botany, something he seemed truly passionate about and eager to share his knowledge with the world. While all of that elegance walked around, Rose and Lisa seemed to love to mess with him as much as possible - either decorating his head with three flower crowns or suggesting he should have a frilly apron on. The male let it all happen, only to dispose of everything after a few minutes and returning to work with the same soft smile and aloof aura, something to contrast heavily with Hanbins more gloomy look. Jinwoo barely spoke about his life outside the cafe and the girls found him to be a mystery, because his social media was conveniently empty of hints and replies to questions vague at best. There was a reason for such behaviour, one which the handsome male chose to keep to himself and only promised aunt Su it wasn’t connected to anything illegal. 

The only person Hanbin did not meet on his first day was Jihwan, someone to replace Rose when she had a more intense time at university and equally loved by the customers. No one really commented on what he did or how he was like, mainly stating it would be best for Hanbin to meet him in person, like he had everyone else. Even his aunt, who had given a small heads up about the staff, stayed tight lipped and was much more focused on her nephew getting to work.   
Opening around 7AM the cafe opened with already a few caffeine addicts waiting at the door as they queued up to get their double shot espressos along with something sugary. The actual customers came in around 10AM, which was when Hanbin watched Jinwoon serve the first few and slowly chimed in - in the end it turned out the males was a rather quick learner, with a good head on his shoulders. The only thing that wasn’t “right” was his ghostly look and bare bones smile, which didn’t bother anyone and yet didn’t own the charm the rest of the cafe had. Aunt Su chose not to push it and if anyone asked would excuse it as him being timid and nervous, asking the wonderful customers to give him time before he would show everyone a warm dashing smile.  
“He is good, but he looks like a vampire trapped in an impressionistic painting,” Rose commented, for a moment having a break and able to strike up a small chat with aunt Su. She leaned lightly against the counter and did some light foot exercises to be able to continue on standing for the whole day. Her lowtop Converse shoes were slowly in the need to be replaced, but Rose was waiting for the season of sales, because her eyes were on a pair of cute pastel pink pair.   
“Some girls like vampires,” Lisa chimed in, finishing up a Sakura Latte with extra vanilla syrup, “Let him adjust. Plus I am sure he is still fighting a bit of fatigue.”  
“I like him,” Jinwoon said with his signature happy smile, setting down his tray to collect the order. Looking over towards Hanbin, who currently was taking the order from a university couple - even though he still looked haggard, the male had a friendly aura about himself. The male watched his colleague for a good while, before looking over at his employer with a soft smile. “He is very good with university students and suggesting them drinks.”  
“He was studying himself, so probably has a good idea what works,” aunt Su commented very shortly, before shoo-ing everyone back into their work positions and dismissing their small discussion round. She looked over at her nephew, sent a small short warm smile and then went back to work - Hanbin on the other hand simply tried to mirror it, even if it was crooked and had barely the same warmth. 

Aunt Su hid under that smile sorrow, pain, grief and sadness, but with time would once again shine even if with new colours added into the mix. Healing took time, it was a processes where even if physically you could be fine the mental side would need time to catch up. To anyone around the male it was obvious he had only started with his grieving, letting in the pain of the loss and dealing with knowing this new reality was without his mother. Those crushing waves of loss could overpower even the strongest of personalities, but were manageable if tackled with calm. In a sense aunt Su wanted to give her nephew that calm and grounded feeling, where Hanbin could find his roots again and from there move forward. Especially now as she had managed to hurt the male with her words, an attacked uncalled for and doing more bad than good.  
Hanbin struggled with the mental side a lot more, because of accepting a reality where he had lost his mother was breaking his heart and slowly tearing it into pieces. She had been a big part of his life and only family he knew, now having to live with this big empty hole as cold winds howled around him. The realisation and maybe even small speck of acceptance came in overwhelming waves, which not even the strongest of humans couldn’t survive without shedding a few tears. He accepted them as they fell down his cheeks and hoped it was a way to work through his grief - plus whenever it happened, it was night and hidden away from the sight of others. It was easier for him to heal, to face the music and not feel like he was only falling backwards into a deeper circle of sadness. The nights had started to seem less dark, slowly stars starting to show up again.

Work truly was a good distraction, at least Hanbin felt so once the cafe closed around 9PM and he was tasked with sweeping the floors. Mundane labour was enough to distract his busy mind, plus everyone working there was a rather enjoyable combination of people and the clients were polite enough. Naturally there were the odd rude man, who was hell bent on impressing a girl with his manliness, or a group of too giggly girls eager to get to know more of him. It was apart of the job and so the week rolled on, quiet and common to the point it could have bored Hanbin. Yet it didn’t - it made his mind mellow, sail on calmer seas as after months he didn’t need to worry about much more than getting up on time. No worry about how to sell the apartment, how to do the funeral or settle the inheritance - there was only simple ordinary day to day tasks.   
Once Saturday rolled by the cafe showed how popular it truly was, all the seats were taken and the coffee machine seemingly working harder than the servers themselves. Especially once afternoon rolled on it seemed like the tables were constantly filled with chattering people, expressing their thoughts and emotions over coffee, sometimes paired with cake. Without noticing time speed past Hanbin, who managed to get a small breather as the onslaught seemed to lessen for a small moment. Standing at the counter, watching Rose prepare an order, his eyes landed on the door to see an all too familiar figure enter the establishment along with three othes. Pushing himself to stand up, he let his hand smooth over the black apron he wore and took a few steps to greet the new customers.

“Welcome to the Pink Bubble, Chaerin,” he spoke with a small smile on his face, the one he had learned to wear and by now seemed rather believable even. A part of him had gained that small speck of happiness back, enjoying the mundanity of his life and the simple jokes that came with it. Not sure if it was apart of him healing or simply how he moved onwards, living the life he had now with the modifications forced upon him by the all to cruel mistress called life.  
“Hey there Hanbin! These are Jiyong, Bobby and Jennie,” Chaerin spoke, standing there with a lineup of people, who seemed like having stepped out of a fashion magazine. Chaerin was once more dressed to the nines - matte black leather pants with a flair on the bottom, a frilly blood red blouse and simple night black jacket over it with a simple white lining. Her hair was flowing down and over her shoulders, make up just like on the plane only tuned down a bit for the time of day. Jiyong today looked like one of those ulzzang boys off the internet - dark jeans, maroon turtleneck matched up with a camel colour coat and Brogue shoes. On his nose balanced round spectacles, under his arm was tucked away a simple looking bag with small detailing. This time his hair seemed to be in loose curls, cascading down over his forehead. Bobby looked the most normal out of the bunch with his three sizes too big sweater with on trend graphic design, ripped black jeans and the latest pair of Jordan Airs on his feet. His hair was styled with wax to sit like a mess on his hair and yet have some some soft of style. Jennie, one who wore a smile as her main accessory, was from head to the tips of her manicured toes dressed up in nothing but Chanel. Face kept barely kissed by make up and long black hair simply flowing down. Together they made quite the spectacle, capturing the attention of several guests, who started to buzz like bees. 

It seemed like some had recognized Jennie, quickly pulling out their phones to double check as well as snap some pictures. Aunt Su watched it with a poised expression, trying to understand the situation on hand and especially why the guests were so eagerly taking photos. After a short while the older woman let out a cough, as if ready to say something very important and groundbreaking. Peoples heads slowly turned to look over at the female at the end of the counter and taking in the furious expression, before shyly putting away their phones.   
“Ah the niece, who will have a birthday?” Hanbin replied, looking at Jennie with a raised brow after he had bowed in greeting to them all. It seemed like a simple quick descriptive and yet summed up everything the waiter knew about the entourage.  
“Good memory” Cherin replied with a proud smile on her lips, looking over her shoulder to her niece, who was beaming, “Jiyong is an old friend and Bobby a close long time family friend.”  
“Why do I get the additional tag of ‘old’?” Jiyong commented with a small short side glance at the female as he walked past and closer to the menu to read what they were offering in this small yet adorable cafe. Bobby, who still was keeping close to Chaerin, let out a small short amused laugh before taking out his phone from his pocket, fingers flying over the screen to probably reply to some messages.  
“So what can I get for you?” Hanbin asked, watching the male curiously reading through the menu and deciding it was easier for him to continue on talking to Chaerin then the rest of the chaotic bunch. Though pleased to see the female at the cafe, he had hoped for a small headsup in order to either have a smaller workload or day off to properly talk to the female before him. Their interactions online were amusing, even if short and keeping their relationship of that of acquaintances.   
“Hanbin, take your lunch now then.” aunt Su chriped from the corner of the counter, having watched the scene unfold and deciding that if her nephew wouldn’t take a break, he would push him too. “You have been working hard.”  
“Do you have a caramel macchiato?” Jennie asked curiously, stepping forward herself to inspect this curious establishment and bidding no attention to the older woman at the counter. Only one to do so was Chaerin, who gave the female a pleasant enough smile as if to apologize for the rest not being polite enough.

“I just want a black coffee,” Bobby informed Hanbin, who noted the order down. Bobby continued to stay close to Chaerin, quietly watching his surroundings and studying them carefully - silence seemed to be a constant part of his aura. Something about how the male stood there in mostly silence seemed nearly mysterious, leaving you wonder why he did not partake in the conversation more and chose to be a silent observant and barely moving. His eyes however studied his surroundings with great detail, picking up every single piece of information available. As his mother was a real estate magnat, he of course immediately started to evaluate the current lots worth and what it could be when renovated - a simple enough way to pass the time before getting his coffee.   
“Do you have whiskey?” Jiyong finally asked, his dry humor only amusing him as he got a rather stern look from Chaerin. The both looked at each other like an old couple would, where a simple glance spoke more than a whole conversation could unravel and seeing it left Hanbin wonder what their actual relationship was like. Just two people, one glance and a million question stood in the room - now that was a   
“Ji, it isn’t even 2PM.” she informed him, hoping it was a joke and yet decided to give a more suitable answer to such a question.  
“Fine two black coffees.” the man ended up deciding not to push his joke further, instead looking for a table big enough to fit a party of now five. He was the most careful and distrusting out of the quartet and thus was not really sure why they had ended up in this cafe. Chaerin in the morning had from the start stated that she knew in which cafe they would have their after lunch coffee and cake. It was rather unusual for her, which was why Jiyong right now wasn’t sure what to make of this Hanbin either. After all the male seemed a meer waiter, who by no means showed any signs to be of worth to anyone, but the owner of this place. Jiyong by nature didn’t trust situations, where too many variables were unknown and did not fit into the picture. That way of thinking seemed to only amplify when Chaerin was around, because no one ever knew what was going on in her head. It was a complicated maze of several thoughts, one which Jiyong did think he managed to navigate quite well, but surely not enough to make sense of her on a day to day basis. Right now he wanted to know, who this kid was and why didn’t this establishment have a proper set of whiskey. 

“I will just have some sparkling water.” Chaerin spoke finally and eyed the display of cakes as she looked over to Jennie, who had somehow managed to strike up a conversation with Lisa. “And I am guessing a piece of strawberry cake, chocolate cake and finally cheese cake.”  
“Take a seat Hanbin, I will bring everything.” Jinwoo spoke, having materialized from the second floor and smiling brightly at the new guests as he held onto the tray filled to the brim with cups, glasses and plates, scattered around them were small spoons and forks. Hanbin looked at his colleague with amazements, because to him Jinwoo seemed too delicate to be carrying a heavy tray and yet was impressed by the sight. 

“Thanks, mate.” Hanbin spoke, looking over at Rose, who had placed the males lunch box on the counter and was ordering Lisa to start making the orders, adding a simple coffee onto the list. Together with Chaerin he walked to a table in the far corner of the cafe, where Jiyong had already taken a seat and looked around with an expressionless face. Bobby was soon to follow and finally Jennie, who happily sat next to Chaerin and tried her best to cheer up Jiyong. “So what brings you here?”  
“In the neighbourhood?” Chaerin offered up a weak excuse, before letting out a small melodic laugh as if understanding it didn’t work one bit. “Okay truthfully wanna go with us to brunch? I figured you need something other than working at the cafe all the time, no? So why not join us and have a delicious meal that isn’t pre-heated like the one on the plane.”  
“Wonderful!” aunt Su exclaimed, having by chance been shuffling by the table and looked over Hanbin with a bright smile only to be greeted by a small scowl, “Sorry. Was about to leave”  
“A brunch?” Hanbin asked with his brow raised, watching how Jinwoon with elegant actions placed the order onto the table. First came the ordered drinks and after that the pieces of cake, which gave off a small faint scent that begged you to eat them in one big bite. Hanbin by now figured one big reason why people came here was because of the amazingly tasting sweets along with the well made coffee. It wasn’t simply the location or quick service, but success had been met through a combination of many variables. 

“It is some kind of celebration of a merger of some companies,” Jennie, explained as she eyed the man before him with what seemed like little interest. In fact she wondered, just like Jiyong, why they had ended up here and why Chaerin was asking a complete stranger to a high profile brunch. Sure it would make the event more fun and they were in a lovely cafe, but that didn’t lessen the weight of previous questions. However Jennie long ago learned one crucial fact about the females in her family - they played the game with their perspective set for the future, not now. Especially Chaerin was a master at this as her decisions seemed to only make sense taking in the whole picture and the problem was Jennie didn’t know what picture to look at. The fact that Jiyong seemed to be lost as well hinted on Chaerin keeping her cards close to her chest, not sure of what to do herself and needing time to think. Bobby being his usual aloof self meant that he was distracting himself with other things in order to later understand what was going on. All of them knew how to play the game of social chess, yet Jennie felt she was kept in the dark on purpose and not sure why, thus the only idea she had was to wait and see. “It is always a celebration of a merger or someone going into politics. Such announcements needs to be fresh, but not breakfast fresh. Lunch is too late and everyone knows that dinners are there to announce more serious affairs like engagements or weddings, never something so simple as mere mergers.”  
There was silence between them as Hanbin looked at Jennie with a good mixture of confusion and amusement, but clearly still unsure if or why he should go to a brunch. To him it was simply a weird time to eat, because anyone with a proper job didn’t have time for brunch and would be concerned with mergers if they appeared on the news. Yet these days the news were oversaturated with so much information, it was nearly impossible to pick up the fact that one needed to move on in life.   
“How do I fit into this?” Hanbin ended up asking, himself rather confused why Chaerin was asking him to come along, when they were not that close and by all means he didn’t fit in that world. He barely fitted into his own world. 

“Simple. I need someone to accompany me so not every nosy gossip loving rich lady has her nose in my business and they don’t know you. If I would show up with any of the people you see here, everyone will expect it and if I go alone, too many questions would be asked,” Chaerin spoke calmly, the tone so logical that one would think the question asked had been rather flawed from the start. “So come.”  
“Uhm,” Hanbin let out a small sound of contemplation as he started to eat his simple lunch, watching absentmindedly how Jiwoon served the other tables. Bobby seemed to be the only one tuned into the conversation, while Jiyong and Jennie had struck up a conversation on their own while glancing at their phones. A small yet powerful voice inside of the male said that he really had no reason to go and yet was intrigued to why Chaerin would invite him. Sure they had been messaging here and there over Kakao, but nothing to warrant this - surely Hanbin mentioning having nothing to do on his off days can’t be the trigger to all of this.   
Chaerin took to sipping her water as she waited, looking over at Bobby from time to time, who had taken upon himself to look as bored as possible, maybe even tired. She could see the wheels in his head turning while calculating the price of this spot, leaving her to smile for a short moment, before her focus went over to Hanbin again. “Well? Listen I know it sounds like a very random invite, but you said it yourself - new in Seoul, know no one!”  
“Well brunches is a wonderful to know someone. It is always a gathering of people, you can later claim to know and yet for the life of you can’t remember their names, birthdays or marital statues,” Jiyong finally chimed in as he set aside his phone, focusing on his coffee with pure happiness. With him having finally spoken up, the others set upon their cakes and drinks - as if the oldest had taken their bite of a meal and allowed the rest to start as well. Jiyong has a presence one could not overlook or deny, because everything about him demanded you to pay attention. It was like a spotlight was constantly on him, the male more than aware of the attention and brushing it aside as if it was dust on his sui. Hanbin couldn’t deny that he was, after Chaerin, most interested in getting to know this man and understand just a little bit of his way of thinking.

“Once you are invited to a dinner or breakfast, then you don’t know someone, because you are actually among friends or lovers. Depends on the situation of course,” Jennie spoke in between bites of her strawberry cake and taking a few tastes out of the chocolate cake. “Brunches are for someones, lunches are for those people you aren’t too keen to see for a long time. Meeting an old friend for lunch really makes a statement, a bad one. That is simple etiquette.”  
“You are among lovers when you have breakfast in bed,” Bobby made a dry comment, looking at everyone before his eyes wandered once more over the whole of the cafe. Not sure when he had picked up his coffee, but there it was in his hands, the male took a long sip of the pitch black substance. By now he knew that such a location in Hongdae would be hard to come by easy and probably was family owned, family run for years. In the back of his mind he made a mental note to snoop around the internet to understand what made this place such a success and a long lasting one, at least so it seemed. Meanwhile he happily ignored the glances sent to him by Jennie and Chaerin, while Jiyong simply decided to inhale the cheesecake that stood untouched and begged to be savoured. After all, he didn’t need to glance, because he had taught the male that piece of information.  
To Hanbin it was rather interesting to watch this bunch of friends, where clearly they knew each other for a long time and happily didn’t hide away their true faces. It wasn’t this polite make believe of how one should act and instead it was much more free, the non verbal a lot louder than what was actually said. His focus was much more on Chaerin, because she had made the suggestion to him and now sat there with all the confidence in the world, pleasant smile on her lips. Just like on the plane the female carried a confidence that seemed unmatched, unreal and in the end somehow one knew it was a defence mechanism. It slowly dawned on him that the reason why he found this whole thing so interesting to him was because of how each of these four people was so intriguing.   
“Fine,” Hanbin finally said, having finished his lunch and somehow knew Chaerin didn’t take no as an answer. What harm could a brunch do?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a comment or kudos if you enjoyed it! Feedback is always welcomed.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you liked it! :)  
> If you liked it please leave a kudos or a comment or both!


End file.
